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Spacebridge Mix-Up
NCC Command Center The blue metals used in the rest of New Crystal City have been darkened here, their reflectivity reduced without being eliminated. The lighting is a contrasting red that, once bounced off the blue of the surfaces, gives the area an ambience of very Decepticon purple. The walls of this very large, domed polygon alternate terminal and work station segments with large metal >PANELS< that curve overhead to join with the arch of the ceiling. The front of the room is distinguishable from the rest by the large monitors that replace four of the work stations and display various areas of the city. The three etched panels that divide these four monitors seem to glorify the city itself. >LEFT<, >RIGHT<, and >CENTER<, each depicts an incarnation of cities that have gone by the name of Crystal City. Almost conspicuous in its absence is any presentation of Airwolf's rebuild of Crystal City. The city is currently in City mode at Mount R'lyeh, and the Lookout Tower is down. The city sensors are on. Shockwave walks into the command center with a datapad in hand. He stops short gazing up at the assembled Decepticons. So many worker drones...splendid! Shockwave says, "Mixmaster will require some raw materials in order to build some better materials for a pet construction project of mine. Therefore I requisition the lot of you to help me bring the following back to earth: 13.24 tons of scrap metal, 55 astroliters of energon from the IHQ storage room and 2 crates of misceallneous computer parts from Trypticon's medical ward." Soundwave enters from the northwest exit, having just completed a project in the med ward. Did he overhear the fracas earlier? If so, he gives no sign of it. Sinnertwin waddles into the room, both heads swishing back and forth. "Ah, a pack horse am I now?" he moans Motormaster comes walking into the Command Centre, having received orders that some supplies need to be shifted from Cybertron to Earth or something. Yay for manual labour. He was actually just passing through to be honest, intent on heading to San Francisco to cause a little mayhem. The thought of ignoring the orders altogether flick through his core. But since he's practically passing right in front of Shockwave right now; there would be repercussions. So, with an annoyed clench of the fist, he stops and says, "Right. Junk from point A to point B." At least loading everything in his trailer should make this work quick. Leaning back in her seat, Fusillade hnns to herself as she reviews several options available to her for the upcoming training sessions. She has no idea how to even go about the planning to bust open the city-former wide open, but then Shockwave's summons to Trypticon sparks interest from her. "Oh hey, that's actually a good idea!" She leans forward to tap in a request on Trypticon's current disposition -- and the feasilbility of moving him to Earth in the near future. She hssts a bit in the direction of the surly Road King. Octane is standing at the back of the room, arms folded, and looking supremely confident at the mention of the 55 Astroliters of Energon. He thinks to himself that he'll easily have that finished up before any of these other los...uh, honored Decepticon fellow warriors compelte their tasks. It is to be noticed, though, that he gives Motormaster a wide berth. Shockwave turns to Sinnertwin "You will be whatever the empire requires you to be. Wether it is a pack horse or something else." He nods to Motormaster, yes much of the stuff will be able to fit in this large trailer. It will make everything go much faster than expected and leave me to carry on my experiments. "Let us not waste any more time than we have to on this chore. Decepticons, to the spacebridge." Soundwave notes aloud, "I shall monitor our instruments here to ensure safe transport of all goods, and keep watch on Autobot transmissions." He then sits down in front of a terminal. Apparently he's too good for grunt work! (Or, maybe he's going to do this TP as an alt? That's another possibility.) A smirk would appear on Motormaster's face . . if he had a mouth. But since he has a faceplate all he does instead to show his opinion of the idea is give Fusillade a nod. His attitude about all this changes . . slightly. He still wants to get the thing done in a hurry, but he's now not going to be driving his fist into various walls along the way. With Shockwave having given the order, Motormaster boldly strides towards the Space Bridge. Radiating a 'this is my personal space. Do not think of stepping into it' as he enters that big high-tech donut. Blitzwing comes to see what all the hustle and bustle is about, hoping there may be some danger and adventure in it for him. Sinnertwin's heads sway as he follows Motormaster in. Due to an animation error, one of his heads briefly looks like Optimus Prime. But then it is back to normal. "Aaaah, I'll give 'ee summit else" the creature grumbles in that charming manner of his Octane would be more then willing to give Motormaster allll the space he wanted, but he's on official business now and is therefore emboldened. Putting on his best "I'm ready!" face he strides toward the space bridge entrance itself and passes through the open gate to...yes, stand well away from Motormaster, brave face notwithstanding. Dangling from her chair, Fusillade hmms. She probably wouldn't bother, but Shockwave and Soundwave just announced their intention to not go along. She kips up, and with a clatter of feet and thrusters on the floor, she sidles to the spacebridge, trailing after the ebony semi. "Ey, Blitzer!" she waves in direction of the contingent entering the spacebridge. "Supply run to Cybertron, got some stuff you and your *commandos* could sink your teeth into." The tone is just enticing enough to give Blitzwing a whiff of what kind of mission she was suggesting. Blitzwing is suitably enticed. "Oh, yeah? What kind of juicy, shapely killing spree have you got lined up for me? Or should I just unwrap it and see what I get?" You say, "We'll discuss later. Still need to do some planning." Spacebridge Terminus '' ''You stand within the technological marvel that is the Spacebridge Terminus . Scientists labored upon this device for fully six million years before perfecting it. Thick metal slabs of tritanium cover the delicate instrumentation and complex engineering, muffling all noise outside. The ceiling of the spacebridge is an opaque circle of obsidian, reflecting the occupants with mirrorlike precision. The heavy metal doors of the spacebridge are sealed shut while the rift is open. 'Controls' are visible on a wall panel. ''----------< Current Destination: Main Spacebridge Terminus -----------'' Blitzwing muses, "Riding this thing always takes me back to when that's like, all we did up on Cybertron, guard the spacebridge. Remember those... few million years, Shockwave?" Shockwave says, "While I may have been 'guarding' the spacebridge, my brain was busy working on various projects, calculations and scenarios of outcomes for the war." Fusillade cracks a thin smile at the comments from Blitzwing, but doesn't add any remarks. She clenches one fist, glancing a tad anxiously at the others. Not very good company to get spacebridge sickness around... she suddenly finds herself relieved that she hadn't recently imbibed any energon. "Oh? What are the chances that I'll be blown up before all of it's over?" One of Sinnertwin's heads nods at Shockwave "Aye, and we found yer little drawings of Megatron, so's we did..." he mutters Octane turns to look at Fusillade with a calculating expression that seems to involve heavy mathmatics before he speaks to her. "Well...if that's a worry I could keep you covered with my forcefield...for a price." Blitzwing nods indulgently, having a 'soft spot' for Shockwave, as much as he does for anyone. "True, true. Not saying you weren't busy. Not to mention we were *significantly* understaffed." "HA! Trick question!" Fusillade turns and jabs a finger triumphantly at Octane. "I've ALREADY been blown up!" And as everyone steps in and the doors of the bridge close and it activates, something goes amiss on the outside. A small brown out flickers through the NCC command centre, with the computers reporting when they come back online 'Destination Bridge: Unreachable'. Yet the bridge doesn't go offline, it keeps trying to send. The computers further report 'Warning: Space Bridge transmission failure. Attempting to abort. Abort failed. Attempting to send. Destination Bridge unreachable'. This continues for a few more moments before emergency protocols within the bridge switch in. Since all space bridges are basically of Decepticon design, the bridge uses its emergency protocols to search for the next available bridge to transmit to instead. The computers report 'Destination bridge found. Transmitting' For those inside, it will feel like a somewhat more bumpier ride than usual. Main Spacebridge Terminus '' ''You stand within the technological marvel that is the Main Spacebridge Terminus. Decepticon scientists labored upon this device for fully six million years before perfecting it, but their labor wasn't protected well enough to prevent it from falling into Autobots hands. Thick metal slabs of tritainium cover the delicate instrumentation and secret engineering, muffling all noise outside. The ceiling of the spacebridge is an opaque circle of obsidian, reflecting those inside with mirrorlike precision. The heavy metal doors of the spacebridge seal shut while the rift is open, and to the left of the doors are the 'controls'. ''----------< Current Destination: Spacebridge Terminus ----------'' Shockwave looks slightly 'stunned' after the transfer. A quick diagnostic reveals that all his systems are working perfectly. "Feels like the spacebridge is a bit amiss," remarks Blitzwing. "Somebody should tell Scrapper." Shockwave says, "Soundwave, report.� What happened?" Octane looks at Fusi with that same caculating expression that, apparently, has been undimmed. "But you haven't been blown up yet...I could help you there. For a price." Soundwave doesn't answer immediately. "Securing frequencies." Soundwave has encrypted this channel. Okay, bad enough that normal spacebridge travel throws Fusillade for a loop. However, this additional jink in the travel process is a bit too much, and with a heave of shoulders, she hyurks on the floor. Wiping her mouth, with back turned to the tanker, she spits out, "Nyuck, that was a rough trip. And I HAVE, you nitwit! Stupid Jetfire..." After a few moments once everyone has their bearings the doors of the bridge his open, to show a scene that looks somewhat non Cybertron like. Outside the doors sunlight can be seen in the distance, and blue sky. Looking further, one might see a few Autobot symbols plastered at key points on walls in the area. Anyone who has ever visited Autobot City might notice that things look familure. Soundwave says, "An error occurred during transport. This malfunction caused the space bridge to be unable to send you to your original destination. As a result, the space bridge went into emergency mode, and sent you to another space bridge. And since the Autobots' space bridges use our designs, you were sent to theirs, as it was the next one available. Cause of malfunction may be related to simultaneously brownout." Dirge says, "Doomed. You're all doomed." Sinnertwin says, "Ah, then we can get tha' supplies from here then, save us wastin' our own stuff" Shockwave says, "..." Blitzwing says, "Thanks, Soundwave. At least we're somewhere, and not just background radiation." Sinnertwin peers around at the view from the door, slowly stomping towards it. "Ah, it seems we're not in Kansas anymore!" Both of the heads start to laugh at his terrible joke. And then he peers. "What's all the fuss with youse lot? I cannae see a problem here, this is grand!" Soundwave says, "Negative, Sinnertwin. I recommend remaining inside the Space Bridge until I can correct the error. The Autobots have not detected you yet. Even with Shockwave present, you are in grave danger of being captured." Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Shut up, Dirge, and get your pointy-headed chassis back to Earth before I get the other coneheads to give you something to cry about.� As for the rest of you?� Hey guys, time to capitalize!� Provided Shockwave doesn't disagree." Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Oh." Sinnertwin says, "Ah, don't be a cowardly Autobot. They're Autobots, they probably give their prisoner's energon baths an' massages an' stuff" From outside, a computerised femme voice chimes across the Autobot City P.A. system, saying as a few lights seem to flicker "Systems need to be rebooted. Please save all work within one minute. Reboot will occur in 1 minute. Systems will be offline for ten minutes." Soundwave says, "Shockwave, I have learned that the Autobots have also suffered a brownout. Interesting. The likelihood that we would be both lose power at the same time during such an incident is infinitesimal." Motormaster looks out the doors and says, having been listing over the radio, "So; we're not on Cybertron? I can see blue sky in the distance.. I bet ya I could make a run for it. Not even a platoon of Autobots can stop me, once I've got up enough momentum." The image of him running over stunned gumbies gives Motormaster some satisfaction. Dirge says, "You have SUCH a way with words. Even now, I am moved to finish my energon laced port and rush right back to New Crystal City." Shockwave says, "I figured as much Soundwave.� Can you pull us back from this spacebridge?" Mother Goose Fusillade says, "I'll lace YOUR port with energon!" NOW the professor is stunned. His mind goes into overdrive trying to figure out how this is possible and how they have arrived here of all places. "This is not the conclusion I was expecting from this transfer and apparent malfunction." He listens to Soundwave's explanation. "This does not solve our dilemma. We have breached the Autobot's fortress which means that armed response on their part is imminent. If we are drawn into combat avoid taking to the air. This close Metroplex's automated defense will make short work of any of us. As long as we stick the ground we should be fine for the moment. Prepare yourselves." he says flatly without an once of nervousness. Dirge says, "Oh would you, Fusillade? Would you really lace my port with energon?" Blitzwing glances sidelong at Shockwave. "I'm always prepared! Not to assault Metroplex, usually, but, you know, prepared in the general sense." Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Complete with a spike." Dirge at least /sounds/ hoepful. Fusillade's golden optics flick between Sinnertwin, Motormaster, and Blitzwing. "Well, you know, it'd be an awful shame. I can see the headlines now. "Decepticon Sitting Duck-Drones Gunned Down in Spacebridge." She ever so slightly tilts her head to the doorway, gallows humor mingling with mischief. Dirge says, "That's not an acceptable garnish. I prefer a sprig of Thyllenium Mint. You should join me here more often." Soundwave says, "Uncertain. Systems rebooting. I shall inform you of my progress." Sinnertwin really doesn't look that bothered. "Aaaah, ye do what ye want ye grannies, I'm gonna go take a leak on Prime's office!" And with that, the yellow mass of Terrorcon beastlyness heads for the spacebridge exit. Will anyone stop him? Octane looks nervous at the sudden, unexpected, and potentially dangerous chain in plans as he tries to keep his brave face forward but the tapping of his fingers against his legs broadcasts his true feelings loud and clear. Mother Goose Fusillade says, "You should join your patrol routes more often." Dirge says, "I've no problem fulfilling my duties. Well, what duties are required here." Sinnertwin says, "Brum ta-rum pum pum..." As Sinnertwin heads out of the terminus, so too does Motormaster. After all, he isn't going to let some Terrorcon show him up. Motormaster should be /first/ to take a leak in Prime's officer. . wait.. That's a stupid idea. But he's already striding out, so he's not about to back down now. Maybe Sinnertwin will be shot down as he tries, that will give Motormaster some amusement. Mother Goose Fusillade says, "I see you missed the alert to fly double patrol perimeters around New Crystal City after the Autobots gave us that goo gel present..." Entrance to Autobot City The massive structure of Metroplex looms in front of you, a gigantic battlefortress and Earth headquarters of the Autobots. Large towers relay information from around the world and the large communications tower in the center keeps Metroplex in contact with the rest of the known universe. Security cameras and gun emplacements surrounding the entrance make sure that only those who are welcome enter. Scorch marks and small holes in the wall are reminders of the last battle here at Autobot City. To the north is the landing pad for flights to and from Earth. Soundwave says, "Has lighting returned within the Autobot terminal?" Mother Goose Fusillade says, "We're not in there. Hard to tell." Sinnertwin says, "I'm gonna go whiz on sommit" Blitzwing says, "There's nobody in here actually, but... wait, some gumbies." A general layout of where the bridge is, in relation to everything else. The entrance of Autobot City is the border between the general Earth population and the Autobot's base. The bridge is actually /behind/ the security gates and guns and everything, almost directly next to the entrance to the Main Lobby. Which explains why the Decepticons haven't been noticed immediately. They've arrived behind Autobot security lines. Dirge says, "I am here on Cybertron - I was unaware that they applied to me. Someone does need to secure IHQ while there's no one here." Dirge says, "That is, of course, unless you are hereby...ordering me...to return to New Crystal City?" Mother Goose Fusillade golf-claps. Dirge continues to speak in his dry, serious tone: "Order recieved, then, Fusillade - I shall return to New Crystal City within the next standard cycle." Sinnertwin carries on clomping across the space between the bridge and the entrance to the lobby. "Ahm gonna get me some trinkets!" he hums merrily. "Yummy yummy for my soup!" His heads are swaying in time, he's looking quite happy Soundwave says, "I would not advise using the Space Bridge yet, Dirge." The stab of fear and excitement at this unexpected turn of events causes Fusillade to bob up on anti-gravs. She doesn't quite fly, "Heed Shockwave's words, but lets move quietly..." She glances after Sinnertwin, curses under her intake, and skims along the ground, sticking to walls and corner joints when she can. Blitzwing draws his rifle and checks his corners. Short, controlled bursts! This is where he's a Viking. Dirge says, "Well, as it sounds like you lot have ended up somewhere undesirable, I'd would say there's a problem with the bridge, Soundwave. Dare I say it's broken?" Shockwave steps out of the spacebridge and looks around. This is a dangerous situation but also highly profitable. "It would be un-efficient to waste such an opportunity. The mathematical probability of something like this happening again are next to none. Motormaster...knock down the door and let us go greet the Autobots properly." Soundwave says, "I am certain that this is a temporary malfunction. The Space Bridge is not... "broken."" Dirge says, "Does it currently malfunction?" Dirge finishes the question for Soundwave, "Then it is broken. Call a Constructicon." Octane glances at Shockwave as he hears the order given to Motormaster but, feeling that it was past time to assert himself, he moves toward the head of the group and stands in a line with the main doors. He transforms into his tanker truck mode before starting to rev his engine. "I'll show those Autobots how it's done first!" Accompanied by the sounds of rubber tires hitting the ground Octane transforms into his tanker truck mode. Soundwave says, "Fool. A Constructicon is unnecessary. Time and patience will correct this error. However, the Autobot terminal will probably not transmit to our terminal unless it is modified." Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Back across the Pacific, huh? Can you dispatch a shuttle for pickup?" Soundwave says, "Autobots have encrypted communications." Motormaster brings his rifle out of subspace. Taking this all deadly seriously. He carefully steps forward some more and then as Shockwave gives him orders, cackles and falls forward, transforming. In moments the towering Decepticon is gone and a sleek, black semi is in his place. Seeing Octane trying to steal his thunder, with a revving of his engine Motormaster bursts forward with a squeal of tires and heads straight towards the doors of the lobby. The Autobots are in for a surprise. The two trucks hit the doors almost at the same time. Them breaking open. Dirge says, "A few Decepticons show up in Autobot City without so much as an Energon Casserole? You're hosed." Main Lobby - First Floor This is a spacious, circular room. An Autobot symbol is displayed high on the far wall. In the center of the room is a large computer terminal, one of several places from which Teletran-2 is readily accessible. Perceptor starts feeling around, "Sky Lynx just interecepted a transmission referring to Decepticons in Autobot City. We must act!!" Sunstreaker shrugs at Perceptor. "I dunno. Frankly? The only sentient machine that should be running things around here, should be us Cybertronians, not some soulless AI. Know what I mean?" Suddenly, however, he puts on a look of utter shock, and turns around, the headlights on his feet turning with him, casting terrifying shadows about everywhere. "What!? Here?" His rifle appears in his hands in a blue flash. Perceptor shakes his head, "I'm not sure where, but he said he pulled the transmission directly from the decepticon frequency less than a minute ago. I'm inclined to trust him. Someone alert COC." The sound of screeching tires and revving engines is heard off in the distance of the Entrance of Autobot City. Suddenly a black semi along with a tanker truck rams into the lobby doors, sending them flying across the lobby; leaving a somewhat largish hole of torn metal and broken wall. And then, in the darkness comes a lilting song as two sets of bright red optics bob along, with a "tra la la!" Then the optics pause, and there is a small trickling sound and a releaved sigh. "Ah now, that's better!" Sinnertwin gasps Shockwave charges into the lobby behind Motormaster and Octane. The Decepticon Commander stops to scan the area while the rest of the troops follow through. With the sudden twist of fate dumping the Decepticons in the bowels of Autobot City, the warriors have decided to capitalize on the sudden twist of fate. With Octane and Motormaster making their grand entrance, Fusillade skims in on hover-jets, although any element of stealth is futile once the semis ram their way through. She pauses at the entrance of the darkened rooms, orange-yellow optics luminous as she tries to identify any strategically feasible targets. Were there any computer terminals that could be removed? Damaged? And what about prized possessions? Hmm. She snaps off a radio. Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Ey, Soundwave!� What rooms are directly attached to the main atrium of Autobot City?" Soundwave says, "Accessing known intelligence data..." Falling to the ground, Blitzwing folds himself inwards, armor locking into place and cannon snapping down as he becomes a battle tank. The rumble and clatter of tank treads immediately follows the semi trucks into the lobby of the Autobot headquarters. "Sorry about the short notice, Autochumps, but we happened to be in the area and thought we'd just... DROP IN!" declares Blitzwing gleefully as he rolls over the wreckage of the doors. Soundwave says, "The main lobby should be connected to many critical facilities, such as command stations, workbays, visiting halls, and an elevator to the second floor. Entrances will probably be labeled according for the convenience of visitors." Octane comes to a halt as he and Motormaster break the doors down to the sound of breaking glass and squealing metal before he comes to a halt, air breaks hissing, as he turns on his headlights to cut two bright streams of light into the gloom. "I bet they didn't see that coming! Ha!" He is gloating already; clearly this is inviting trouble. Perceptor says, "Autobots! remember your clocks!" Perceptor transforms, cannon shifting slightly to the right as he folds down into his microscope/field artillary mode. Perceptor uses his telescope and its filters to start sussing out Decepticon IR signatures and their relationship to his comrades. And here comes Smokescreen! There's an advantage to having one's headlights easily acessable in robot mode, and so Smokey comes a tromping up from a side corridor, grumbling a few choice obscenities beneath his breath. He splays his brights over the invaders, cross-referencing them with the assembled Autobots- not his kind of odds, to tell the truth. But then again, let it not be said that Smokescreen is afraid to take a gamble. And so, he starts muttering into his comlink. Oh. Snap. Whirligig's optics go wide when the door gets crashed through... followed by a veritable /stream/ of Decepticons. Startled, the engineer takes several steps backwards, but in the dark, she's about as maneuverable as a t-rex in a tar pit. ...and then Perceptor's trick. Great. But... well, she can't run. It'd be absolutely cowardly to turn tail now, especially with so many Decepticons suddenly right on their doorstep. She draws in a deep breath, squaring herself, optics flickering when yet another pair of highbeams shines in and just about blinds her again. Lovely. Well... she'd managed to keep from getting creamed when they'd been dropping her goo bombs! Now to see if she can manage this time. Snapping out her... well, rather unimpressive pistol. It's not much, but at least she can try to hold them off while she works her way to try to lock down any areas she can reach without getting /creamed/--... oh, hey Smokescreen. Great! Now the room's good and lit up. Well, for most. She's still reeling from the bright-lights-to-the-optics, so everything's a little bit fuzzy for the moment. Sunstreaker dives out of the way as Motormaster charges through the doorway. "CRAP!" he shouts as the big guy rolls past. Realizing that his own headlights make him huge target, judging by the way Motormaster is making such an obvious target of himself, he turns them off completely. Propping himself up on one elbow, he fires in the general direction of Motormaster's lights, hoping to score a lucky hit. "You aftholes broke into the WRONG house!" *ZAT* goes his rifle as a brilliant line of blue energy briefly points from himself towards the Stunticon leader. "...er, what was that about clocks?" Perceptor is blinded from Smokescreen's lightshow, "Well, it WAS going to be about clock positions, but now I can't see a slagging thing, thanks to James Bondo over there!" "Heh, heh. James Bondo. That's actually pretty funny," the tank remarks, turning its hull towards Streetwise, the turret following. There's a sharp *BANG* of a door hitting the wall from the south, along with some growled mutterings. One can probably see a glint of light blue, which are optics narrowed behind a dimly-glowing visor, as Peacekeeper emerges from the med-bay after kicking open the door. Fortunately, her visor helps keep her from being blinded from the abrupt change from darkness to semi-light. "What in the world--?" The Decepticons streaming in from the outside, however, gives her all the answers she needs. "Ohhhh. Pit. No." She decides to stay near the med-bay and Lounge doors to guard that certain area, and promptly brings her rifle out of subspace. She targets the other one to break down the doors and promptly opens fire. Peacekeeper strikes Octane with Laser Rifle . Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Relative orientation of Command Center doors, in degrees, to main entrance?" ((Which one is that?)) wonders Blitzwing, as his cannon draws down on the Autobot, who happens to be Smokescreen. ((All these car guys look the same to me. I wonder if they feel the same way about the Seekers.)) The cannon speaks with a thunderous, glass-shattering BOOM. Blitzwing strikes Smokescreen with 125mm Cannon. Having now entered the lobby, and being fired upon, Motormaster shifts and transforms into his robot mode, laser rifle coming into this hands. He begins shooting at random, just in general trying to keep the Autobots back and possibly hit a couple. He shouts into his com, over the sound of gun fire, "Right. We're in. Now what's the plan? Or are we just going to try and down them all before legging it?" After a quick scan, Shockwave spots Smokescreen's headlights panning around the Decepticon position. Shockwave drops into a crouch below light level and aims between the two headlights. The Decepticon fires off at the Autobot's James Bond wannabe. Shockwave succeeds in grasping Smokescreen, throwing him off-balance. Soundwave says, "Command Center doors should be 180 degrees from the main entrance, directly ahead." The high-contrast of halogen headlight beams and pitch darkness burns in the same way that a Beast Machines episode does, and Fusillade frowns deeply as she tries to fathom the silhouettes. She snarls at the spotlighting from Smokescreen, and snaps down an optical filter usually used for the sun. Upon getting verification by Soundwave, she makes a chopping 'go' motion directly across from their entrance and the ruined doors, and responds to Motormaster, giving guidance to the others as well. "East! Straight ahead, go go go!" She kicks on anti-gravs, and begins to skim over the floor toward the Command Center, if she doesn't get clipped by weaponsfire -- friendly or otherwise. Octane is interrupted in the midst of his triumph by the sound of a rifle shot firing in the dark from the southwest before shooting through his driver's side window, across the cab, and out through the other window leaving a lot of broken glass and Octane in a bad mood. He transforms quickly into his robot mode, heat shield at the ready, before he pulls on the trigger of his flame thrower which sends a long jet of flame shooting toward Peacekeeper. "Let's see if you like this!" Perceptor tracks Fusillade, "Oh no you don't, My Dear Lady Disdain!" he transforms and rushes Fusillade, intending to tackle her before she can get to the command center using Smokescreen's limited light to track her. Perceptor succeeds in grasping Fusillade, throwing her off-balance. Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Keep moving, drag them along WITH you, if you must!" Whirligig squints and looks around. Though things are still a bit fuzzy, she's managed to regain most of her optical reception, and the extra light from Smokescreen before helped. She adjusts... with the headlights in the room, friendly and nonfriendly alike, she takes aim at a shape that is distinctly Decepticon - considering the fact that it's in flight - Octane transforms into his towering robot mode, his wings spread out on either side of him, and already hiding behind his heat shield. Octane strikes Peacekeeper with Fire. Perceptor's viewfinder shifts over slightly to the left, as he gains height and transforms into his robot configuration. Whirligig squints and looks around. Though things are still a bit fuzzy, she's managed to regain most of her optical reception, and the extra light from Smokescreen before helped. She adjusts... with the headlights in the room, friendly and nonfriendly alike, she takes aim at a shape that is distinctly Decepticon - considering the fact that it's in flight. And then, Perceptor tackles said figure. ...well... here's hoping for the best. At least she has enough skill in aiming not to hit her comrade. Whirligig strikes you with (yes, she /does/ carry one) pistol for 3 points of damage. Smokescreen, Streetwise, all the same? Not likely! See, initially this was supposed to be a time of deep study, an indepth review of the several manuals and descriptions of battle-flights in using one of several shuttles. The Protectobot didn't want to be hopelessly clueless when his turn came to take the controls, and let's face it. No one likes to crash within a minute. And then this mess had to intrude with the start of 'lights off'-- by the time he'd noticed, the full round of notes he'd taken time to compile went up in a puff of so called smoke. He'd been distracted with his headset and missed the notification. This made him highly irritated. On top of that, Decepticons were apparently the cause, and not say, some twin's prank. Though that'd be some prank. Making it into the area, Streetwise drove in-- not with his lights glaringly making him a target, no, he depended on his sensors to pick out a few-- ofcourse there were shots being fired so it really wasn't /that/ hard. Whomever looks like they needed it best, "That's it, someone's going to pay for me having to redo my notes!" he was going to take aim, and try to knock them off their feet. Sunstreaker winces as Smokescreen's brights fill up the entire room. Standing up, grimacing, he holds up his left hand to shield his optics while his right, carrying his pulse rifle, sprays electro-pulses across the room. The tiny pulses flare brilliantly in the darker corners of the room and crackle as they impact against... well, whatever they impact against. He hopes it's Decepticons. "Frack, that's too bright!" Crumpling in a flurry of moving parts, Streetwise transforms into a white police car. Spectrum runs out from the med-bay as well his optics taking in the entire hallway, which equals lots of trouble when 'Cons are inside the base. "Oh Primus..." He says, his optics burning brighter than normal right now. For a moment, he just simply takes in the situation, that is, before he notices that Shockwave is trying to mangle one of his comrades. "Smoke!" He yells, and then raises up his right arm, and from his wrist comparment, a huge stream of fire is sent at the one eyed Mech. Spectrum strikes Shockwave with lets just find that melting point!. Peacekeeper throws her arms up in front of her face and chest to shield both as the flames wash over her armor. Although they leave some nice scorch-marks on her arms, the attack causes little other damage beyond cosmetic. "That's it? And you're a Triple-Changer?" She scorns, switching her rifle's setting before opening fire again, strafing Octane this time. Peacekeeper misses Octane with her Laser Rifle attack. Streetwise misses Motormaster with his Compressor Air Cannon attack. "He's kind of the exception to the rule that triplechangers kick ass," Blitzwing explains over the noise of the explosions and engines roaring and lasers pew-pewing. The blasts of Blitzwing and Shockwave converge on poor Smokescreen- his tumbling form is illuminated briefly by the weapons fire...but then, from the darkness, there's that telltale transforming sound...and Smokescreen is soon speeding through the corridor in his vehicle mode! "Luckily, I've got something planned just for this situation!" He says as he weaves back and forth between the 'cons, spewing smoke from his tailpipes...but there's something different this time, as instead of obscuring smoke (which would be pretty redundant in this situation), the chemicals that combine in mid-air to bind themselves to decepticon hide are fairly harmless...until one considers the fact that, once combined, they have two unique properties. 1) They're attracted to metal, and 2) They glow green in the dark- 'painting' the tagged 'cons to view! Smokescreen's form twists and shudders, and mere moments later, the Diversionary Tactician is no longer there, replaced by a red and blue stock car, engine revving. Smokescreen misses T-72 MBT with his grasp attack. Smokescreen misses Motormaster with his grasp attack. Smokescreen misses Shockwave with his grasp attack. Smokescreen succeeds in grasping Fusillade, throwing her off-balance. Smokescreen succeeds in grasping Octane, throwing him off-balance. With a loud clanging and clunking Blitzwing rearranges himself into his imposing humanoid form. Shockwave raises his right forearm to shield his precious and legendary 'all-seeing eye' from the incoming flame jet which leaves a black burn mark on the arm. Quickly the cyclops turns to face his new attacker. //Target identified: Spectrum Threat class: Unknown Launch sub-routines: Counterattack and Data acquisition.// The Decepticon changes position to get a better view of his target and fires off a shot. Shockwave strikes Spectrum with Microwave Blast. Blitzwing transforms as soon as Smokescreen comes charging his way, springing up into his robot mode and leaping sideways away from the cloud, rifle coming up to fire as he does so. Cartridge casings spangle onto the ground as he lays down a spray of fire towards the car, shooting between his own feet while sailing backwards through the air. Also, he has a toothpick clenched in the corner of his mouth. A turbotoothpick. Blitzwing strikes Stock Car with Assault Rifle (burst fire). Octane sees Peacekeeper's rifle raising again but doesn't have time to jump away or attack again so he does the only thing he can and activates his forcefield. It turns out this was an adriot move on his part as Peacekeeper attempts to strafe him with the result that the shots all dissipate as they strike the shield. He smirks toward Peacekeeper from behind the shield but, as he hears Blitzwinh's disparaging comment, he turns to shake his fist at him which causes the glow in the dark paint to splatter on the back of his head. "What the...what on Primus was that?" *he reaches behind him, running his fingers over the back of his head, before looking down at the glow in the dark paint with first confusion and then understanding that the darkness doesn't conceal him as well as it used to. Trouble! Octane successfully activates a powerful protective forcefield around Octane, shielding him from the next attack. Motormaster is moving now; now that Fusillade has directed him where to go. He spares a glance for Fusillade that seems to be now glowing and being attacked in multiple directions. He could stop to help her. But he'll be of more help if he can actually get this plan done so they can get out of this overly dark crackerbox. So the Stunticon leader stows his rifle for the moment and begins to run. Letting out a battle cry he starts to dodge past laser blasts, receiving a scorches thanks to slow moves, and heads at the Command Centre doors. The dash goes pretty well, for the first two thirds of Fusillade's bolt, before the press of metal around her legs ensnares her. Fusillade goes down in a clatter of armor. With a snarl, she whips around to punish whatever Autobot has deigned to clutch her. She's midway through rearing back to claw his face off when the laser fire from Whirligig smatters into her armor, the sparks and crackling energy giving Smokescreen a very easy shot on the two-toned grey bomber. "GET. OFF OF MEEEEEEEE! Scrapper could do better paintjobs overenergized!" she shrieks, before she transforms, the space in the Atrium suddenly much more crammed now as she expands to her full size. With a spine-chilling whine of priming engines, she ignites her atmospheric afterburners, and points her arrowhead shaped silhouette toward the Command Center doors. With luck, Motormaster will duck. She heeds her own orders, and carries Perceptor with her as she releases landing gear brakes, and stampedes toward the reinforced doors. There's a distinctly vindictive glint in her cockpit glass -- maybe a trick of the harsh lighting? Fusillade leans forward, wingblades whipping out to their full span, even as her arms lock backward in place as the rear fuselage. Her torso folds out to the become the cockpit of a Terran B-1B Lancer, ready for flight! You strike Perceptor with ram. You take 9 points of damage from striking Perceptor. Spectrum can't move around much in the already cramped area, and as he tries to dodge the Cyclop's attack, he merely makes it worse by presenting his side to the uncoming laser. It strikes deep, leaving a nasty spot of melting armor and fused wiring. Though, Spectrum doesn't have time to do much for the wound, and continues his advance on Shockwave. "An eye for an eye Shockwave, but atleast I spot two." With that, Spectrum unspaces his laser rifle and attempts to put on dead center on the 'Con leader. Spectrum misses Shockwave with his� laser EYE surgery! attack. Perceptor gets knocked on his ass by the bomber. Fortunately for him, she's still a bomber. He's still Perceptor - albeit not as affective as he might've been since there's now a huge dent that is quite deep into his mechanisms. "I remember you.." he says, breathing heavy, "The olympics, right? The javelin toss? Well here...toss THIS!" his shoulder cannon fires not plasma, but highly compressed air - it's dangerous air, though, as any training droid will attest. Whirligig stumbles and trips, landing flat on her aft as she makes to avoid the transforming flier, tail boom swinging out hard behind her. Wincing, the femme thinks fast. She has to do something, but she's not fast enough to catch up with Fusillade... of course, she doesn't quite realize that her tail just swung at a certain charging Stunticon's legs... oops. Perceptor strikes you with compressed_air for 15 points of damage. Blitzwing's blast strikes home (again) and sends Smokescreen tumbling end over-end...at which point he takes the opportunity to transform in mid-air- as landing with the assistance of LEGS is a lot easier than just four wheels. And so, Smokescreen rolls with the proverbial punch- and then keeps moving- as this time, he's springing forward to snag the newly-transformed Fusillade's tail... As, by his calculations, if he can plow his full weight into her tailfin, it'll cause her body to pivot...and instead of careening towards the command center door at full speed? Well, that's a very, very solid bulkhead right there. With a changing of parts and that telltale sound, an otherwise Mundane Stock car converts to the Autobot Smokescreen. Smokescreen succeeds in grasping B-1B Lancer, throwing her off-balance. Sunstreaker shakes his head as darkness returns. Hearing the Decepticons stomping PAST him, Sunstreaker realizes the Decepticons aren't here to wax the Autobots themselves--they're here to trash their home! He flicks his hi-beams on for a split second--yep, there they go. "Oh, no you don't, Motormaster!" he growls, and charges after the Stunticon leader. Unwittingly stealing a move from Streets of Rage 2, he tries to jump up onto Motormaster's back so that he can punch him in the head over and over again. "You're not going ANYWHERE!" Sunstreaker strikes Motormaster with Ankle Twist. Peacekeeper glances over the melee with a distinct 'tch' sound in her vocalizer. She deals Octane a harsh glare as if to say, 'I'll deal with you later', then turns towards the main fight. They have to keep the Decepticons away from the Command Center. So, she transforms and charges through the fight right towards the Decepticons making a beeline for the Command Center. Motormaster seems to already have a few Autobots on his case, which leaves the bomber--and although Fusillade is a good few feet off of the ground, the large modified Hummer is a bit big for a land-based vehicle in her own right. Still, she aims for one of Fusillade's rear landing gears to hopefully spin her back and away from the doors. Peacekeeper twists around and backflips, her body folding together until an M997A2 lands on its wheels. You evade M997A2 's ram attack. Motormaster was...quick? The stunticon was suprisingly more agile than his form at a glance would give credit for. Streetwise however wasn't the only one who'd try to make good on the other's nimble advances, it was much like an avalanche...for both himself, and the newly transformed bomber whose painted chassis he'd recognise anywhere. Seeing as how those two were covered, he moved in to support Spectrum who was duking it out with the one'eyed Decepticon commander. The PSP wasn't looking too great, and his tires screeched as he advanced. "Thought I'd join in on the fun there Spectrum." Levelling the large 'cannons' in the large robot's direction, "You're at the back here hogging ol' Shox." A crackle of yellow snacked from it's muzzles, straight for the other. Streetwise misses Shockwave with his Photon Cannon attack. Shockwave moves surprisingly fast for a big bastard and ducks off to the side narrowly avoiding the laser blast. Then backs away 2 steps avoiding Streetwise's photo blast. "Nice try Autobots but your arrogance will be your downfall." he says before firing off a UV blast at Spectrum. Shockwave strikes Spectrum with UV Ray Blast. Motormaster roars in frustration as two Autobots pound him, sending him tripping. Though the trip is semi fortunate that it takes him out of Fusillade's path. But unfortunate in the sense that it sends him landing just inches from the Command Centre's door. He roar in frustration, shouting, "Fine. You want a piece of me Sunstreaker? You've got on!" And begins to transform into a mode that should hopefully buy the other Decepticons some time. Since he is being dog piled, he's going to give them all something to play with. As the transformation sound occurs, Motormaster shifts into a massive car crusher mini-base. Atop the car crasher a long crane looms, complete with magnetic attractor. The crane swivels over to Sunstreaker and attempts to lock onto him. He's got a dare with the crusher's jaws. With the traditional sound, Motormaster falls backward folding into a big black 18-wheeler. In a long series of 'clicks' and 'clangs' Motormaster slowly transforms into his Car Crusher mode. Motormaster misses Sunstreaker with its grasp attack. The shield has worked! Octane returns Peacekeeper's glare with a broad smirk of his own before he decides to copy everyone's transforming habit before he quickly transforms into his 3rd mode and, with a blast of air horn, accelerates as fast as he can toward Peacekeeper. Accompanied by the sounds of rubber tires hitting the ground Octane transforms into his tanker truck mode. Octane strikes M997A2 with Ram. The orange and blue cones of her thrusters taper as she surges forward, left wing-fairing clocking Perceptor in the back of the cranium, but not enough to keep him permanently down for the count. The scientist's discharge catches her square in the undercarriage, lifting her and tilting so that one wing arches up and clips the roof of the Lobby, sending tiles raining down on those below. There's a shriek and squeal of metal from her airframe skidding forward by virtue of the quartet of engines going full burn. If she recognized Smokescreen, she probably would have rubbed it in about their encounter at the Monacus Spaceport. Such as it is, the unkind yank of one of her tailslabs adds another vector to her lethal spin, sending her out of Peacekeeper's line of fire. Her nosecone and front fuselage crumple against that bulkhead to the side of the Command Center doors. She slaps back down hard on one set of landing gear, several hydraulics squeaking in protest. Fishtailing, the rear fuselage whacks into the wall to the side of the Command Center doors, one bladed tailslab punching through the wall's facade and shearing the middle hinge. Pain. Blind. Fusillade's voice fails her, and she falls back on secondary targeting systems, the air filling with the shrill piercing ping of nightvision imaging. At that point, there's an unlatching, and she drops her rear bomb bay doors. There's a ratchet of rotating carriages, before rack emerges. A small ballistics mount fires off a series rounds, blowing off the bomb doors. The aircraft's wingtips quiver from the self-mutilation. The muzzle retracts, and this time, a full carriage drops down like an obscene New Year's ball, and trains on the three closest IFF signals that registered as foe. Fusillade unleashes her GATOR Anti-Personnel attack on Perceptor, Smokescreen and Peacekeeper, striking Smokescreen and Perceptor. Blitzwing lands on his shoulders and rolls backwards, coming up on his feet with a knife in his left hand. He flings it sidearm towards Perceptor as he sprints towards Motormaster- mustn't let himself be diverted... the Decepticons have a job to do! Apparently. Blitzwing strikes Perceptor with Combat Knife. Spectrum is nailed right in his shoulder, and his hand grasps at the now searing armor. "Slag...." He says to himself, but pulls free his lance from subspace. oO(Well, atleast we're getting him to move backwards)Oo thinks Spec, before he stands up again. Leaning down, the Game-bot charges towards the 'Con leader, hoping to skewer him on the end of his weapon. Spectrum misses Shockwave with his� meet the end of my pointy stick! attack. Well, Whirligig isn't about to let Sunstreaker have all the fun. She has no idea what she can do, but... wait! That gives her an idea. She sets her propellers to spinning, hard. And, shifting her wings as much as she can, she spins around, keeping her tail tucked as her propellers go ripping towards Motormaster... more particularly, the crane... not so much a cutting sort of thing as... well, being smacked with the large propellers hanging off the wings of a V22 Osprey. Whirligig strikes Motormaster with propeller smack. Perceptor isn't going down that easy. He gets hammered with the GATOR, his armor quickly getting slagged but in no way seems to stop the quote-unquote Scientist, according to Smokescreen's profile of him. Just as he gets up, he gets shanked in the side by Blitzwing, but it doesn't stop his shoulder mounted cannon from spinning up from low to high whine and firing a superheated plasma charge at Fusillade. Sky Lynx's arrival means fighting just got close quarters, but that's okay, he can hang with anyone - he's Perceptor! Perceptor strikes you with Plasma for 21 points of damage. You are very conscious that your life is in serious danger in this battle. And on the computer terminals of the Main Lobby, they begin to glow as the Autobot Spinny starts to appear. It seems that the 10 minutes TAI has informed them all of is almost up. M997A2 screams as Octane strikes her right side, sending her into a fishtail and nearly rocking her off of her wheels--so even if Fusillade hasn't gotten struck by Perceptor's blast, she would've missed the bomber anyways. She transforms, her right leg buckling under her weight as she collapses, and Fusillade's barrage barely misses her. "Aaaagh! Dammit!" She curses vehemently as she withdraws a blade from her thigh pocket and throws it at Octane's trailer. The M997A2 pitches forwards, back bumper over nose, and splits apart, twisting in midair before Peacekeeper lands on her feet, now in robot mode. Streetwise...didn't think he had aweful aim. He really didn't. That was twice in a row and he's starting to really wonder if his targetting systems needed recalibrating or not. He winced internally for Spectrum, but he was a hardy 'bot, knowing that there was a job to be done. That said, the Protectobot was through trying to target from afar, "I think you have the right idea there Spectrum!" Ideas however, were definately different from reality. As Spectrum charged, Streetwise would aim to zip past the larger Decepticon, before breaking hard into a arcing spin that was timed to crash into Shockwave's legs. It would be hard to avoid everything when not on your feet! Or so the theory went. Streetwise strikes Shockwave with ram. Peacekeeper misses Octane with her Throwing Knife attack. Motormaster says, "I can't budge for all the Autobots here. I say we fall back?" Mother Goose Fusillade says, "Gurrrrgh, we didn't even get in anywhere important..." Smokescreen is blowed up. *KABOOM!* Now, were there appropriate lighting in this situation, one might see Smokescreen's blue & cherry-red paintjob comically marred by blackened soot-marks. However, it's still dark, so the cartoonish effect goes unnoticed. Ever the opportunist, Smokescreen staggers towards the Lancer's open bomb-bay doors, bringing up his rifle in the process. "You know, I've really been looking forward to an opportunity like this." the battered tactician wheezes, bringing his blaster up to fire directly INTO Fusillade...or, perhaps more accurately, into the tons and tons of ordinance she's got tucked away inside of her. Smokescreen succeeds in grasping B-1B Lancer, throwing her off-balance. Sunstreaker backflips away from the magnetic arm of horrible mangling and pain, fortunately for him, and lands in a crouch. "Oh, yeah, I DO want a piece of you, Motormaster. I want the WHOLE THING!" A rocket pops out of the launcher, its bright flames illuminating everything as it blasts towards the Stunticon. "I imagine it must be hard to dodge stuff in that mode. Oh, well. Sucks to be you, huh?" Sunstreaker strikes Motormaster with Laser-Guided Rocket. A slam could be heard against the door, make that on the wall. However before a Decepticon could even think about turning there heads to the door, Enters in, at least by head wise, the large giant himself, with a roar. His claws paw slamming into the door way to pull him in, "Decepticons!!! I will make you all burn!" So said Sky Lynx. Octane begins to back up, the side of his tanker section scraping against the wall, which has the lucky effect of the knife Peacekeeper throws at him to zip between the cab and his rear section, before his air horn blasts action in the loud room before he drives toward Peacekeeper again to ram her again with his headlights on high beam setting to blind her. Octane strikes Peacekeeper with Ram. Motormaster says, "Looks like Sky Lynx has arrived. I'm going to take him down.. I suggest we fall back. As with him here it's going to be messy. While he's busy with me we can get outta here." Shockwave says, "I concur.� Disengage and start pulling back.� Soundwave, can we use the space bridge to go back or must we fly out?" Soundwave says, "Conducting system diagnostics..." Falling to the ground, Blitzwing folds himself inwards, armor locking into place and cannon snapping down as he becomes a battle tank. Soundwave says, "Confirmed. You may use the Space Bridge to return. However, you must act quickly before emergency protocols are overridden and the Autobots restore normal functionality to their terminal. You will have only one chance to escape." Blitzwing hits the ground and transforms, putting the frunt of his hull towards the Autobots as he backs towards Motormaster. His turret swings around to point into the door to the command center- it fires with a devastating BOOM, klaxons and fire and shattering glass immediately audible from within. The car crusher takes a series of pelts as Sunstreaker shoots at him from point blank range. The golden boy is right, it is hard to dodge when you're an immobile unmoving thing. And then Sky Lynx arrives; oh goody. Things are getting too hot here. The car crusher transforms again, this time into a black semi. Revving its engines, getting its engine up to speed the black semi lunges forward with a screech of tires. It is time to fall back and Sky Lynx seems to be in the way. Time to clear a path for all the other Decepticons. So the semi just drives towards the Lobby doors. Playing chicken with Sky Lynx. With the traditional sound, Motormaster falls backward folding into a big black 18-wheeler. Dirge makes a chuckling sound, dry and humorless as it is, "Sounds like I'm going to HAVE to return to Earth now, if this is what's passing for a raid these days." Shockwave watches Spectrum charging him with a lance. //Data analysis: Melee weapon noted.// The cyclops sidesteps to the left and pulls on the lance to make sure Spectrum's momentum carries him out of the way. Unfortunately it actually put Spectrum safely out of Streetwise's ram which sends the Decepticon commander reeling back against the nearest wall. A quick look at the rather filled lobby. He hears Motormaster's suggestion on the radio and relays his own instructions. After regaining his footing Shockwave decides to ignore Streetwise for the moment and focus on the one who tried to do the unthinkable of attack his 'All-seeing eye™'. "Mark my words Autobot, before the long I will stand over your smoking carcass." he says before firing one last shot at Spectrum. Soundwave says, "This was not supposed to be a raid at all, Dirge." Shockwave strikes Spectrum with X-Ray Blast. The shot from Smokescreen lands home, lighting up the smaller rear bay's ordnance. The warheads detonate with a magnesium flare brilliance and a resounding -THRACK!!!- that rattles the walls with its reverb. The air thickens from the burning. When visibility returns, there's a faint strained creak. It might have been a vocalization, or any number of other shorting out systems. For now, she listens, heedful of the radio directions. With an agonizing nail-scratch screech of metal parts dragging over each other, she transforms back. The words 'Good boys,' barely whisper over charred hematite lips as she begins to stagger back to the main doors, leaving a greasy patter of vital fluids behind her. The sleek bomber rears up, wings collapsing onto hips even as the rear fuselage splits to form arms. The horizontal stabilizer slides up, the forward fuselage folds up accordian style, and Fusillade hops up on thrustered feet. Fusillade begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Sky Lynx, Octane, Shockwave, Motormaster, Streetwise. Motormaster misses Sky Lynx with its ram attack. Dirge says, "No? Even more reason for me to return - seems like a reminder of the good ol' days is what's needed. Raids, plundering, random violence against the fleshlings. Ah, Slag it - I've been gone too long. I'm getting nostalgic here." Perceptor sees that he's stopped Fusillade from going into the command center. Perceptor starts going a little bit..batty..what with the damange, the confinement to Autobot City, and the stress he's been under. "ALRIGHT WHO ELSE WANTS SOME??!?" he looks around, "You?" he says quite openly to Shockwave? "No." he looks to Motormaster, "How about you, you two-but Optimus knock-off? You want some of THIS? I didn't think so." he then alights on Blitzwing, "Oh yeah, you..you with the Igyak sticker. You're my bitch.." he sneers and advances on the Triple-Changer, hopping on top of the battle tank and pounding to beat all hell on top of the turret!! NO MORE MISTER NICE SCIENTIST TYPE FELLOW, INDEED!!!! Perceptor strikes T-72 MBT with punch. Spectrum is slammed by the energy attack, which sends him spiraling into the fray with the other Decepticons. His chest armor is now just a nice puddle on the floor. Though, probably to Shockwave's interest, the Game-bot stands up. "Advance!" he roars, and runs at Shox, and tries to lunge a kick into his mid-section. All the while though, he's trying to keep the one eyed mech at bay, till the base is fully operational again. Spectrum strikes Shockwave with Please to be getting off Jazz!. Smokescreen throws an arm up to shield himself from the flare of Fusillade's detonating bomb-bay, and staggers back himself...though at the sight of the semi-sploded femme staggering away, he can't help but murmur... "I've been wanting to do that for YEARS." Not one to rest on his laurels, however- and he soon sights in on...well, Blitzwing- snapping off a pair of his Electro-Scrambler rockets even as Perceptor wails on the tank- it's the least he can do to make sure that Perceptor doesn't get flattened...as much, at least. Peacekeeper can't get out of the way in time, what with her damaged leg, and shrieks as she finds herself suddenly pinned between the wall and Octane's front nose with a nasty *CRUNCH*. She coughs up some Energon and barely notes the Decepticons beginning to retreat, thank goodness for that. "Ghhhhn..." She lifts her rifle and fires a three-shot burst at Octane. Peacekeeper misses Octane with her Laser Rifle attack. Smokescreen misses T-72 MBT with his Electro Scrambler Rockets attack. Okay. Some retreating, some retreating, some re--... oh, slag. The femme winces back as her propellers slow to a stop on their back. ...Of course, it seems Perceptor is mostly dealing with the threat, and she very much doubts that any further attack will do any good, but... well, Blitzwing has generally blown a lovely hole in yet another door... and hey, besides that, Perceptor is her friend and she isn't about to let him have all the fun! Whirligig misses T-72 MBT with her yes, it's still just a pistol attack. Sunstreaker raises his rifle up at Motormaster, preparing to blast him again, but as the room is slowly illuminated by the omni-present computer monitors, he sees, in the corner of his vision, Octane smashing Peacekeeper to bits. He can't help but feel a bit of smug glee at seeing the bossy medic get trashed, but... ah, hell. She's an Autobot, the same as him, right? He has a responsibility to help her. Sigh. "Get the hell away from her and run back to your little turbo-rat hole, Octane!" Sunstreaker shouts as he hoses Octane down with electro-pulses. Or, at least, the general area he's driving through. Sunstreaker strikes Octane with electricity. The dents were a small price to pay for the satisfaction of seeing Shockwave thrown off balance for even a moment, it was shortlived however as Spectrums inadvertant flight demonstrated. He transformed swiftly, bringing up his weapon to take aim likewise, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were purposefully ignoring me!" His armour would seriously thank Shockwave later for this oversight. Retreat ineffect or no, he took the shot. Motormaster attempts to ram Lynx, and Sky Lynx nearly darkly chuckles at the decepticon as he attempts. How-- cute. "A little toy wants to play with me, how jolly nice." He says raising his claw, for Motormaster to slam into instead, as he pulls himself further in. His massive size causing him keep his head very low, very little movement in here. With That in mind, he takes his claw which held back Motormaster and with a good slide back of it as far has it can go into the hall/entrance. He brings it back around to slam into the truck. Streetwise unfolds and shifts into a white, red-trimmed robot. Sky Lynx strikes Motormaster with Say hello to my big claws. Streetwise misses Shockwave with his Photon Pistal < high level > attack. And the lights all come in on the lobby as TAI completes her power up. Once again, systems in Autobot City start functioning again. Over the Autobot City P.A. the voice of TAI says, "Reboot completed. All systems are.." and that's when Blitzwing's blast through the Command Centre doors impacts. There's the sound of static and TAI is silent over the PA. Though luckily all the lights stay on. Like an annoying brat who does not know when to quit Spectrum charges back right into the frey and kicks Shockwave in the mid-section. For a fraction of a second Shockwave ponders printing Spectrum's face of the floor with chokeslam but sticks to the plan and proceeds to transform into his space-gun mode in order to flee and have some /options/ should he need them. The transformation allows Streetwise's beam pass harmlessly. With the traditional sound, Shockwave transforms into a giant space-gun. Shockwave begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sky Lynx, Motormaster. Octane pulls back again from Peacekeeper as the rifle rounds again, happily, miss him as the reactivated lights glimmer on the curved steel sides of the large tank attatched to him before he unpleasantly gets a shock from Sunstreaker's electricity attack which causes the still active headlights to flicker on and enough as Octane continues to back up and through the shattered front entrance way and out of the headquarters buidling. He keeps backing up toward the spacebridge. Octane begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sky Lynx, Fusillade, Space-Gun , Motormaster. The black semi is knocked back slightly as Sky Lynx's paw swipes at him. But really; he's made of stronger stuff than the average Autobot or Decepticon. Primus, Motormaster competes against Rodimus Prime as king of the road. He's not about to back down from some overgrown metal lizard. He cackles and tires begin to screech again as he goes back towards Sky Lynx as everyone begins retreating past them. He's going to make sure Birdy Boy isn't going to have a chance! Motormaster strikes Sky Lynx with crush. A barrage of incoming fire twangs and spangs off of Blitzwing's hull, but he is impenetrable! Impenetrable, you hear?! Instead he throws it into reverse and backs away down the hall as quickly as he can, after Motormaster. "See you kids next time! Love what you've done with the place!" Blitzwing begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sky Lynx, Spectrum, Octane, Fusillade, Space-Gun , Motormaster, Smokescreen, Peacekeeper, Sunstreaker, Streetwise, Perceptor. Blitzwing might start to move, but Perceptor hasn't gotten off of him yet. He continues to ride on the tank, his fists pounding into the turret. His chest is pretty much caved in, his armor's fragged, he's got a gash in his side quite freely leaking energon and here's this SCIENTIST riding a triple changer and pounding away, a series of curses that would make the twins blush audible as he continues to pound. Perceptor misses T-72 MBT with his punch attack. Hobbling her way back to the doorway, one damaged palm against the wall plating, Fusillade mumbles to herself catankerously. It's fairly slow going, not being able to see where in the heck she's going. She pauses fairly often to listen for the sounds of combat, the thundering of warring titans. Eking her way to the ruined main entrance, she mmphs as she paws over the rent blast doors. "That feels somewhat familiar..." before she half-trips over rubble, and into obscurity. Sky Lynx's paw slides across Motormaster and then slams into the side of the wall. As he tries to yank it back out, growling lowly at being in such tight quarters, then comes the next fun part. While everyone by-passes Sky Lynx, Motormaster also takes the chance to slam into him yet again, this time hitting him right in his neck. Sky Lynx yelps in pain, then lets out a roar at Motormaster, loud enough that in this close quarters its like someone amped it by 2 times, echoing off the walls and shaking the foundation of Metroplex itself. Sky Lynx then rips his claws free, and bring his head up high as he can, opens his mouth up and rains down white flame upon the Optimus-wanna-be as Perceptor so called him. Sky Lynx strikes Motormaster with Plasma-fire. T-72 MBT does his best to scrape off Perceptor on a wall as he rolls out. "As much as I'd love to take you home for the Swoops to play with, you'll be better off with your own kind, Percy," he explains as he goes. Sunstreaker nods to himself in satisfaction as Octane breaks away. Another notch on his rifle, as far as he's concerned. But there's still a few cons here for him to trash. Like... Blitzwing, for instance. Oh, yeah. "Say, Blitzy..." Sunstreaker says, grinning smugly. "I owe you, don't I? Ok, then, here's a little payback for all the crap you gave me..." He fires a quick burst at him. Sunstreaker misses T-72 MBT with his Quick Burst attack. Peacekeeper collapses as soon as Octane reverses away from her, somehow managing to twist so she ends up on her back. Ooooh, she's a mess. Her right leg is severely dented, some armor actually sheared off to expose the internal components in her leg, and her abdomen from mid-waist up to her chestplate is similarly mangled and flattened. She lets the Decepticons retreat, shutting off her optics as she runs a self-diagnostic to gauge just how badly she's injured. *ptwing!* The ricochet destroys some poor minibot gumby who never even had a chance. Noooooo! Spectrum rises up, and looks back at the rest of his Autobot allies. "Autobots, damage and casualty report..." He says, as Sky Lynx and Sunstreaker seem to be chasing off the last of the invasion force. The Game-bot still stands proud, even though his body is riddled with damage, and parts of his armor plating are nearly gone. Though, that's when Spectrum walks over to Smokescreen, and elbows him lightly. "I think he'll do well in Wrecker training." He says, and hopes his commander remembers who and what he's talking about. Smokescreen staggers a bit, then leans on a handy wall, smiling despite the burn-marks and craters across his chassis. "Hot damn, that went a lot better than I expected-" he says, firing a few halfhearted blasts at the retreating 'cons- doing more damage to the architecture than the enemy, honestly. He pauses, however, as he spies Peacekeeper, and soon tromps towards her- "Peacekeeper? Can you hear me?" Perceptor gets peeled off the tank, and thus his attempt to cave in the turrent is ended. He picks himself up and looks around for more opponents, quite openly ignoring that poor excuse for a taunt that the just heard. He starts to look around for more invaders. He sees Motormaster there and staggers up to him. He taps him on the shoulder, "Excuse me my good man, have you any Energon, Cheateu Neuf-de-Pape, circa 2020?" when and if Motormaster turns around doesn't matter. The short mech goes for a haymaker like punch towards the helm of the Decepticon like George McFly versus Biff! Perceptor strikes Motormaster with punch. Streetwise wasn't fool enough to follow after Shockwave in any grand delusions of glory-- he was leaving, he could certainly leave. The damage already done to the area, much less fellow Autobots would be enough to have his brother lay the lockdown on several of them for days. He kept his weapon within his grip, but moved to assist anyone who looked to be in a badway. Motormaster says, "Heading to you guys now. I hope that bridge is working cause I think I'm going to have big bird on my tail." Shockwave says, "I will cover you." Motormaster says, "Oh, I can take him. I just don't want him to take me. Be ready to hit the switch.. or whatever it is when I drive in." Shockwave says, "Ready for transport Soundwave" Shockwave says, "On my mark" Soundwave says, "Ready for transport." Soundwave gets anxious over the delay. "It may be... necessary to abandon stragglers." Motormaster comes sprinting in, shouting as soon as his inside the Bridge. "Alright. I'm in." Shockwave says, "Mark" Soundwave says, "Activating Space Bridge. Receiving..." NCC Command Center The blue metals used in the rest of New Crystal City have been darkened here, their reflectivity reduced without being eliminated. The lighting is a contrasting red that, once bounced off the blue of the surfaces, gives the area an ambience of very Decepticon purple. The walls of this very large, domed polygon alternate terminal and work station segments with large metal >PANELS< that curve overhead to join with the arch of the ceiling. The front of the room is distinguishable from the rest by the large monitors that replace four of the work stations and display various areas of the city. The three etched panels that divide these four monitors seem to glorify the city itself. >LEFT<, >RIGHT<, and >CENTER<, each depicts an incarnation of cities that have gone by the name of Crystal City. Almost conspicuous in its absence is any presentation of Airwolf's rebuild of Crystal City. And so, less bumpy than the first time, the two space bridges link up across the planet and shunt their passengers from one location to another via subspace. After a few seconds the doors of the bridge terminus open and reveal the familiar and reassuring surrounds of the New Crystal City command centre. Shockwave steps out of the spacebridge and runs a self-diagnostic about his injuries. Nothing to really complain. The Autobots did minimal damage. Nothing self-repair cannot handle. "Status everyone?" Soundwave swivels around in his chair to stare at the incoming Decepticons, looking at them each in turn as they arrive. "Excellent." Motormaster says as he twists his neck and shoulders this way and that, a grinding/popping sound emitting itself. "I'll live. I'll let the medics worry about the others who had to deal with more Autobots than just me." Soundwave says, "Medical ward, prepare to receive patients." There's a faint sizzling sound from the spacebridge terminus. Fusillade clunks her badly damaged head on the doorjamb, and mutters to herself as the world reels. She mumbles something about not being able to HAVE anything come up, before a few techs begin to prod her toward medical. --End--